Central Park

The biggest garden in Manhattan is, of course, Central Park. 

Summer	Fall	Winter
Summer	Fall

 

There are all kinds of places to play in Central Park.  The south end, within walking distance of the ritzy hotels on Central Park South, is lovely but a little commercial for my taste.  The Ramble, much further north, is natural woodland (the only part of New York that is), a beautiful area to explore on a weekend afternoon, and reputedly a popular gathering place for gay guys, (at least in the pre-AIDS days). And there are tennis courts, the old-fashioned carousel, the Sheep Meadow (very popular with sunbathers in summer), and of course, the Metropolitan Museum and the summer concerts.

A famous spot is Strawberry Fields, the memorial to John Lennon, a few yards from the Dakota, the grand old Gothic building where he lived and died.

The part of Central Park that is my personal favorite, especially in spring, is the Conservatory Garden. It’s an elegant French/English garden (half and half), with banks of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, low hedges, fountains, and two shaded avenues of magnificent trees that blossom pink and white in spring.

"Only Make-Believe" A stroll in Central Park at dusk, on a beautiful fall evening, wound up at the "Conservatory Lake," more commonly known as the Model Boat Pond.  Darkness was falling, but there were still plenty of people around. The moon was almost full, the lights were reflected in the pond, and a lone saxophonist was playing "Only Make Believe."

August 18, 2005 - a walk in the park

August 25, 2005 - a glorious summer day

Click a thumbnail to see a larger version.

To see or download full-size versions of the photos of Central Park under show, click here.

To see or download full-size size versions of these photos, click here.

The pond in Central Park - the "green" is duckweed, good for the environment.	The Wollman Rink in Summer - a Victorian amusement park.
A lone bagpiper in Central Park.	Musicians in the park.
The Conservatory Garden, with Fifth Avenue in the background.	Dressed in pink and white for spring.
Dickon and Mary from The Secret Garden	Banks of tulips in the Conservatory Garden.
Spring in the garden.	More tulips!
The Reservoir in Central Park - the Gothic building in the middle is the Dakota.

 

More Central park photos in the August 18, 2005 Weekend Update

The Wollman Rink

All the movies show the Rockefeller Center skating rink, but New Yorkers who want to skate outside on a crisp winter day go to the Wollman Rink in Central Park.  (The Lasker Rink looks like fun, too, but I’ve never been there.)

When I first came here from Australia, I’d only skated a couple of times in my life.  Since I was living near Central Park, I tried out the Wollman Rink.  It was fun, but the rink was 30 years old, and in bad shape.  I wobbled on the rough surface, and skidded in the pools of melted ice.

The city government had plans to repair the rink, but things moved slowly.  Then came The Donald. He swooped in, had it repaired and up and running in record time, and the Trump Organization now runs the rink. In winter it draws crowds of everyone from beginners to championship-level athletes.

My favorite memory of the Wollman Rink is the year I attended David Letterman’s Christmas party there.

I had been working as a computer consultant for the Late Show, and was invited to their Christmas party at the Wollman Rink.  The timing was perfect.  A day or two earlier, we had seen the first real snowfall of the winter, and the rink was surrounded by drifts and pillows of snow, dressed with sparkly Christmas lights. The night was cold, crisp, and clear.  We ate, drank, skated, and generally had a lot of fun. 

Finally, it was time to go home, I said goodnight and decided to walk out of the park.  Normally, walking in Central Park at night is not something I’d do, but that night, because the mayor and other celebrities were at the party, it seemed half the NYPD was guarding the rink and the access roads to it. 

The picture is in my mind forever; strolling out along a snow-covered path, Christmas lights sparkling in the trees, Fifth Avenue buildings silhouetted against the luminous deep blue sky, the music from the party, and the clip, clop of a horse-drawn carriage coming through the snow and the moonlight. 

About crime in Central Park:  I’m always surprised to hear tourists say they’re afraid to go into Central Park. How could anybody be afraid of such a beautiful place? Then I remember that I was nervous too, when I first arrived here. 

The reason muggings in Central Park hit the news is that (a) they are so rare, and (b) people are horrified by an attack in their own personal garden, which is how most New Yorkers think of Central Park.